101603


How do I express that I'm taking a somewhat long-term (e.g. a few weeks to a
few months) break from hobbies or entertainment such as video games/social
media/etc?

I found the question below in which 休む and 休憩 were suggested, but I'm not sure
how natural or accurate they are for this usage; taking a break from school
and taking a break from video games seem pretty different to me.

[What is the best word to use to mean "to take long-term a break (i.e. from
school)"?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/5262/)

Some native friends also suggested using 自粛する, 自重する and 休止する, but do they work
here?


CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-08T21:16:09.643
101594
2023-11-12T05:31:16.313
41688
question
word-choice expressions
How do I say "take a break from (gaming, social media)"?


休む is natural and probably the simplest way to express the situation. This
verb means not only absence from school, but also a temporary suspension of
one’s habit. Therefore, if you stop for some time doing what you habitually do
and intend to resume it later, you can simply use 休む. According to Goo辞書 (see
the 5th entry [here](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E4%BC%91%E3%82%80/)):

> やす・む【休む】
>
> ５ 日ごろ続けてきたことをしばらくせずにいる。「植木に水をやるのを—・む」

You can also use similar expressions such as 休みを取る and お休みする. 休止する is also
possible, but it is a more formal expression.

I think that 休憩する, 自粛する and 自重する don’t suit the situation. 休憩する focuses more
on refreshment and often describes a short break. In addition, 休憩する can be
replaced by 休む in most cases. 自粛する and 自重する mean self-restraint, so they imply
some reason to do for the break, such as awareness of addiction or having
caused trouble for other users.


CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-08T22:05:48.367
101596
2023-11-08T23:01:50.513
2023-11-08T23:01:50.513
32952
57528
101594
answer


> How do I express that I'm taking a somewhat long-term (e.g. a few weeks to a
> few months) break from hobbies or entertainment such as video games/social
> media/etc?

ゲーム断ち and SNS断ち seem appropriate, if you want to say it's a long-term thing.
In a full sentence, it would be something like ゲーム断ちする.

ゲームを断つ is okay, too, but it would be less conversational. Conversely, -断ち is
might be too colloquial if you are looking for more formal expressions. 自粛する
can be a good choice instead.

ゲームを休む can mean both short breaks and long breaks, so it works here but it
does not explicitly mean a long term thing. 休憩 is definitely short.

This -断ち is usually applied to consumable items and entertainment. So it won't
work well for breaks from work, breaks from school, etc. (Unless you are
saying you are addicted to work, perhaps.)

Note that there is rendaku in it - it's gēmudachi rather than gēmutachi.


CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-09T09:28:23.130
101603
2023-11-12T05:31:16.313
2023-11-12T05:31:16.313
10531
10531
101594
answer